Page 1 Mimosa Street, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086. Tel: 9451 0022, 9451 0199. Fax: 9975 3560 Email: davidson-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Webpage: www.davidson-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

A community school, Davidson High School is committed to providing an inclusive educational environment that is supportive, innovative and engaging. We believe that by working strategically and collaboratively we will inspire and develop future focused students who are active and connected learners and critical and creative thinkers.

Why Scout is an Important Part of Our School Mrs Jann Pattinson, Principal

Davidson

March 2018

Diary Dates MARCH Wednesday 28 Area Swimming Carnival Thursday 29 Easter Bake sale Friday 30 Good Friday

APRIL Monday 2 Easter Monday Monday 9 School Photos Monday 9 -Tuesday 10 CHS Swimming Carnival Monday 9 - Friday 13 Y11 Hospitality work placement Tuesday 10 Y8 & Y12 Parent Teacher Night Wednesday 11 Anzac Day assembly Thursday 12 Athletics Carnival Friday 13 Harmony Day Last Day of Term 1 Monday 30 Staff Development Day GATEway Examination

MAY Tuesday 1 All Students return to school Wednesday 2 Grade Sport trials Thursday 3 SOPA Auditions Monday 7 - Friday 11 Y11 Work Studies Interviews Monday 7 Y8 Literacy Focus Day Tuesday 8 Y9 & Y11 Parent Teacher Night Wednesday 9 Fun Run Big Science Competition Thursday 10 Y7 Literacy Focus Day Y9 Science Zoo excursion Friday 11 School Cross Country Monday 14 Sports Selections Tuesday 15 - Thursday 17 NAPLAN Y7 & Y9 Wednesday 16 - Friday 18 ICET to Canberra Monday 21 - Friday 25 Y11 Construction work placement Tuesday 22 Y 7 & Y10 Parent Teacher Night P&C meeting Thursday 24 Zone Cross Country

Year

11

Stu

den

ts

The following article is an abridged version of what appeared in ABC News this week.

How therapy dogs can help students in the

classroom with more than stress relief The Conversation By Christine Grove and Linda Henderson

In the wake of the school shootings in Florida, therapy dogs have been used as a way to provide comfort and support for students returning to school. Research has shown therapy dogs can reduce stress and provide a sense of connection in difficult situations. Given the impact therapy dogs can have on student wellbeing, schools and universities are increasingly adopting therapy dog programs as an inexpensive way of providing social and emotional support for students. Benefits of therapy dogs Animal-assisted therapy can:

teach empathy and appropriate interpersonal skills

help individuals develop social skills

be soothing and the presence of animals can more quickly build rapport between the professional and client, and

improve individual's skills to pick up social cues imperative to human relationships. Professionals can process that information and use it to help clients see how their behaviour affects others

More recently, therapy dogs are being used as a form of engagement with students at school and university.

Benefits of therapy dogs at school A recent report highlighted children working with therapy dogs experienced increased motivation for learning, resulting in improved outcomes. Therapy dogs are being used to support children with social and emotional learning needs, which in turn can assist with literacy development. Research into the effects of therapy dogs in

schools is showing a range of benefits including:

increase in school attendance

gains in confidence

decreases in learner anxiety behaviours resulting in improved learning outcomes, such as increases in reading and writing levels

positive changes towards learning and improved motivation, and

enhanced relationships with peers and teachers due to experiencing trust and unconditional love from a therapy dog. This in turn helps students learn how to express their feelings and enter into more trusting relationships

Despite these known benefits, many schools choose not to have therapy dog programs due to perceived risks. These range from concerns about sanitation issues to the suitability of dog temperament when working with children. But therapy dogs and owners are carefully selected and put through a strict testing regime prior to acceptance into any program. When Scout is at school he works and plays with lots of students. He really enjoys being part of the Davidson community. He even pops over to Mimosa from time to time. Some students recently did a session with Scout’s trainer to better understand what is expected of him. It won’t be long until he has to go through his testing process again to remain a qualified Therapy Dog. Coming to Davidson each week brings him great joy and I think his feelings are reciprocated by many.

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Deputy Principal’s report Mr David Rule, Deputy Principal

With term one drawing to a close there is much to reflect upon and plenty to look forward to. Year 12 have completed their half yearly exams and now have the opportunity to engage with the feedback they have received and set themselves up for the run home into the HSC. It is always a busy time for these students but also their families and we thank you all for your ongoing support of Year 12. It has been pleasing to see so many students across the school taking the many opportunities made available to them at the school. With SOPA being a key component of term 2 it is fantastic to see and hear so many students involved with band, not to mention all those making a huge commitment to the dance and drama ensembles. A big thank you in advance to the staff who remain back after school for the best part of 3 months to conduct rehearsals and provide the opportunity for our performing students to exhibit their skills. Can I please thank all families who have supported us with the uniform at Davidson this term. The new jumper has been well received by the students and with winter coming for term two now is a good time to get the correct jumpers and jackets if you do not have them. No plain blue jumpers will be accepted as uniform and students will be asked to remove them if they continue to wear them. The NSW Department of Education clearly outlines the responsibility students have to work with the school to comply with the set uniform. If you have a child in Years 9 or 10 can I

recommend that you keep up to date with the HSC Minimum Standards situation through the NESA website. There have been some changes made by NESA and the Department of Education this year that impact Year 9 in particular. The 2018 Year 9 cohort will sit Naplan this year without it having any connection to the HSC and minimum standards. Unlike last year the results will have no bearing on their ability to receive an HSC. The school will continue to send home information detailing the processes and requirements. Finally, I wish everyone a happy and safe break and you all take the opportunity to recharge batteries ready for a busy term 2.

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Recognising Achievements

Liam Patterson On Saturday morning at Blacktown International Sports park, Liam's U18 Manly rep baseball team played Cronulla and beat them 3-1 to win the grand final. This is the first time in 16 years that Manly have won the U18 grade competition. It was a great way to end his junior baseball career. He'll continue playing baseball in adult competitions both winter and summer from now.

Mark Anderson Congratulations to one of Davidson High School’s former Principals who recently received the AM Medal for significant services to secondary education in NSW through administrative and executive roles and the educational standards on Australia Day this year.

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Year 7 Camp Ms Sutton, Year 7 Advisor

In week 4, Year 7 and some Year 10 mentors went on camp to Mangrove Mountain on the Central Coast. They had some fun teachers with them including Mr Zouain, Mr Geddes and Ms Figueira from Maths; Ms Pierce, Mrs Suttling and Ms Spano from HSIE, Mr Martin and Mr Pocott from PE, the Year 7 Deputy Mrs Martin and Year 7 Adviser Ms Sutton. Students had a terrific time challenging themselves on the rock-climbing and high-ropes

course and facing their fears with abseiling and the very exciting giant swing. At night students participated in group challenge activities and an awesome disco. Each day involved different activities, and students got to know new people in their year group through team work and by encouraging others in the challenges.

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Visual Arts Ms Loretta Mangassarian

Open Night

Soap Stones Pendants Y10 students shaped and engraved into their soap stones with historic and contemporary symbolic visual representations. As Michelangelo said “Every block of stone has a status

inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it”.

Sculpture - Stick Insects Year 10 Visual Arts students have been studying sculpture and assemblage using natural objects such as leaves twigs, gumnuts and gum leaves to create some unusual “stick” insects.

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Welfare Mrs Jayne Everingham

Welfare

Term 1 is always a busy term with Year 7 settling in, Year 12 preparing for exams and Year 11 meeting the new challenges of the Senior School. We have a number of welfare programs operating this term and I would encourage all parents to come along to the cyber bullying presentation on March 28th at 7.00 pm in the MPC. I have included an outline of what is happening for each year group below and the entire year will be on our website very soon. Current research indicates the biggest concern for parents raising teenagers today is cyber

safety and online bullying. Jonny Shannon is a highly regarded presenter and will be speaking on a variety of different aspects in relation to cyber safety. This is a very different presentation to the one held last year and I encourage all parents and carers to attend. Our year advisers have been kept very busy this term responding to emails and parental concerns. Just a reminder that each year adviser has a full teaching load and they may take up to 48 hours to respond depending on their load on particular days. We thank you in advance for your support.

7 Peer mentor sessions and induction to high school

Year 7 camp

Year 7 Elevate study skills

Year meetings

Brainstorm production- Verbal combat

Immersion sessions on friendship/rumours and bullying

Guest speaker on Bullying with follow up sessions

8 Year 8 student interviews

Year 8 elevate study skills

Year meetings

Guest speaker on Bullying with follow up sessions

Immersion session on the impact of bullying and support available

R.A.G.E program- strengths based and solutions focused program dealing with anger

9 Year 9 elevate study skills

Year meetings

Guest speaker on Bullying with follow up sessions on the impact of bullying on individuals, seeking help

and rectifying issues

10 Year 10 elevate study skills

Year meetings

R.A.G.E program- strengths based and solutions focused program dealing with anger

Guest speaker on Bullying with follow up sessions on the impact of bullying on individuals, seeking help

and rectifying issues

11 Leap into the senior years study day

Leadership Training

Year 11 Elevate sessions – study skills

Doctors visits dealing with mental, physical and sexual health.

12 Year meetings

Mentoring of students by selected staff member

Commu-

nity Cyberbullying presentation March 28th Year 7 meet the parents March 20th

Year 12 and 8 parent teacher evening

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Welfare Mrs Jayne Everingham

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Rotary Corner Kos Psaltis, Youth Service Director, Rotary Club of Belrose

Our annual Davidson High School run Rotary meeting was held on 27 February. Joseph Campbell assumed the role of President, Izzy Hall was Vocational Director, Gemma Crowe was Community Director and Ryan Sutton was Youth Director. Manu Sarswat had 2 roles as he was International Director and Membership Director. Olivia Kabalan had the most difficult role as she was taking over the role of the legendary Cara Severino from last year as Sergeant.

All the students carried out their respective roles with professionalism and were a credit to their school. At our meeting on 10 April 2018, we are having our Youth Awards Night at which Davidson High School students will feature prominently. If you are interested in attending, please call me. (0402 205 628). Kos Psaltis Youth Service Director Belrose Rotary - Mob 0402 205628

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ICET Open Night Mr Brett Manning, ICET Head Teacher

Congratulations to Seika, Aoi, Saki, Raiki, Taiki, Momoka, Minami, Rysuhi, Mau, Hiromu and Haruka on their wonderful participation at Davidson’s open night. The students spoke eloquently about themselves, the ICET programme and their experiences to all groups that came by our classroom. Their cultural activities were a hit with both parents and children. Well done everyone and thank you for your thorough preparation.

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ICET Clean Up Australia Day Fusai Harada

For the past 5 years, the ICET students have participated in Clean up Australia day. On Sunday the 4th of March, the ICET students and Davidson mentors worked collaboratively to clean up Davidson Park. It was a challenging morning picking up rubbish. Cigarette butts were one of the worst things to pick up. Many students commented on some possible reasons why people litter and drop cigarette butts. Many PET bottles were found in the water and were quite a

challenge to fish out. Next year, we will be bringing fishing nets to collect them. This led to a wider discussion of how to keep our school clean and promote pride in our environment. We would like to remind everyone that rubbish affects us all and our environment. Please dispose of your rubbish appropriately. As the slogan states “Don’t be a tosser”.

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ICET Mr Brett Manning, ICET coordinator

Hi. This is Kosei and I am an ICET student. Today I will talk about Clean-up Australia Day. We went to the Davidson park to clean up on Sunday the 4th of March. We made a huge effort to clean the park. I thought I would die, I worked so hard. Everyone cleaned up the park with as much effort as myself. At times, we jumped into the water to collect the trash. This wasn’t hard work, but an adventure. We also could work together with Davidson students. We worked together to clean up the park. After that we ate a lunch and played. We did “suikawari” which is called “watermelon break” in English. This game requires a long stick and a watermelon and a blindfold. First of all, a challenger puts the blindfold over his or her eyes and tries to finish (hit) the watermelon. It was fantastic!! By accident, a student kicked a ball into the water. We jumped into the water to get the ball. It was dangerous and awesome. Actually other students threw the ball into the river again so we jumped into the river twice! It was fantastic day and we all enjoyed it. Kosei Shirahata

Hello everyone!! My name is Ryushi Nakanishi. I’m an ICET student. Last Sunday, I went to the East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Disaster Commemoration in Crows Nest. As you know, Fukushima was hit by a terrible tsunami on March 11, 2011. For this day, we wanted to share Japanese culture with Australia. We sold traditional foods such as Okinawan donuts, local cuisines such as soybean motchi (glutinous rice cakes).

The ICET students performed the Sansa dance during this event. This was the first time we danced in front of other people. At first, I didn’t want to perform, but after dancing I felt happy.

So many people came to this event. Even Davidson students! I was so glad to see them. It means we could tell about Japan to them.

Ryushi Nakanishi

On March 9th, I went to the Zone Swimming Carnival with some Davidson students. Initially, I was very nervous, however as time went by I was able to calm down because I saw some Davidson students were swimming like they weren't nervous. So they relieved my anxiety. Also, I could have fun because I liked the atmosphere. There was lots of cheering. I think it support their team mates. Finally, I’m trying to become familiar with other Davidson students.

Taiki Kobayashi

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ICET Mr Brett Manning, ICET coordinator

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Canteen

Canteen News Healthy Choices—our updated menu includes exciting new healthy options. We now offer the following items over the counter:

Carrot & Hommus cup $1.00 Freshly Baked Muffin $2.00 Yoghurt & Fruit cup $2.00 Watermelon tub $2.00

Daily hot food specials:

Monday Chicken Burger & Vegie Burger (order only) $4.00 Tuesday Chicken Tender Roll $4.00 Wednesday Sushi $3.00 Thursday Nachos & Vegie Nachos (order only) $4.00 Friday Chicken Caesar Wrap $4.00

Our full menu is available at http://www.davidson-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/canteen1 Lunches can be ordered at the side window of the canteen and need to be in before the end of recess. Please note that there are no lunch orders on Wednesday due to lunch being earlier at 11.50am. Eftpos is available at the canteen with a minimum spend of $5.00. A big thank you to our wonderful volunteers who regularly assist us in the canteen and welcome to our new volunteers this term. We still have a lot of spaces on the roster and would appreciate your help. Please contact Sam on 9451 1552 if you are interested. Please note, due to OH&S regulations we cannot heat up food brought from home or provide hot water for noodles not purchased at the canteen. We are happy to provide plastic spoons and forks at a cost of 10 cents each.

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Community Information

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Community Information

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Community Information